Knockdown cribbing for graves



Fil ed Feb. .6, 1939 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 ARTHUR E oonsv A TORNEY June 24, 1941. DOREY KNOCKDQWN CRIBBING FOR GRAVES Filed Feb. 6; 1939 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INV ENTO R ARTHUR F. DOREY ATTORNEYS Patented June 24, 1941 one states Parent @FFI-QE KNQGKDQWN" ORIBBING FORGRAV-E Sr Arth urvF. D'orey, Little Falls, N. Y.

Application February 6, 1939,=Se1'ial"iNo. 254,835

it-Claims:

My presentinvention relates to a cribbing for use in digginggraves andlike excavations.

The. purpose :of this invention is to provide a new and improved form of knock-down or col lapsible cribbing: for the digging'of graves and the like and particularly to provide a cribbing which is economical and strong in construction, readily set up and taken down and one which can be readily adjusted withinthe range required fonmaking graves of different widths.

A. further purpose is to providea device'of' the A still: further purpose isto provide'a. cribbing of the classllmentionedwhere a full side may be used and two opposite corner posts with regular.

connections from each extra corner'post. to the.

corresponding corner posts of the complete side so:as;to.forrn a one-side-cribbin'gior use in special situationssuch as where the groundis firm enough. to support itself upon onexside of the.

grave; but is loose or otherwise disturbed or may fall on. the other side of the grave.

A still further purposeistoprovidea cribbing of the type mentioned where the sides may}. be

safely composed of sideboards which are spaced apart :a' moderate distance thus rendering. the.

assembled sides lighter and more easilyhandled.

Further purposes and advantagescfthis invention. will appearfrorn the specification and claims herein.

Fig. 1 is an isometric projectionof a complete and entirely erected grave cribbing" embodying this. invention.

Fig; 21s an end-elevation of the right'han'd corner post of the near end of the cribbing shown in. Fig. 1 with itsupper and lower arms'shown extending horizontally to the left, the upper arm' being. supported in that position by its brace.

Fig. 3 is a similar view of-th-e left hand corner post of said inner endof the cribbing'with'its arms. extended to the right and with its'upper arm brace in operativeposition.

Fig. iiis an end elevationof the righthand cornerpost; but with its arms and brace in foldedposition.

Fig. 5 is an isometric projection of a one-sided cribbing that is formed. by using one of my regular. assembled sides and its attached connecting arms and braces with an extra pair of corner posts an'd'arms andbraces, but without extra. corner posts being supplied with side boards;

Fig. 6 isa topview of the near-left hand corner on; an enlarged-" scale.

Reierring-to'the drawings in a more particulardescription; it will be seen that a full cribbing embodying'this' invention consists of four corner posts id preferably and conveniently formed-of angle'iron withsaid cornerposts connected intwopairs byside boards 3 i and means for. adjustably and detachably connecting the ends of thethus io'rined sides in properupright and spaced relation.

In commonpractice, the Sideboards i iwill be plain wooden boards most conveniently about seven and one-half feet long andsix and onchalf inches wide and seven-eighths of an inch or one inch in thickness. Obviously these mensionsaresimply suggestive fora thoroughly.

practical cribbing, but may be varied as tolength and other sizes in-anyparticular locality or situation asneeded. Forming the side boards of wood provides the sufiicient rigidity and lightn'ess for convenient and safe operation, but the sides might be if'desired constructed of relatively thin sheet metal withoutdeparting from this invention. Furthermore, the saidside boards'li arepreferably spaced apart'say three or four inchesas this operates to produce a sufiiciently tight side for all practical purposes and produces a" side which is light enough to be readily handledand thespaces between the side boards assist in the more convenient handling of the side members both in placing them in the grave and removing them' therefrom. Preferably; furthermore, the top-side board is spaced a few inches downfrom the topof the corner post and the lowermost side board is spaced an appreciable distance, say about ten inches up from the lower end of the corner post. The lower end ofeachcorner post is pointed as by trimming oiitheouter corners of the two-webs of the angle iron of which the corner posts are constructed. In practice the side boards are fastened to the'inside of the side web iilof a cornenpost by the use of round-head bolts H and with the bolts projecting through the boards and through suitable holes provided in the side Web l2 of the posts and receiving nuts 54 upon the outer end of said bolts. In practice two bolts are used at each end of the several boards. When the required number of boards, four boards as shown in the drawings, have been thus assembled upon their two corner posts, they form an assembled side which is indefinitely left in assembled position. It will be seen that one of these sides may be readily handled as by taking them on a wagon or truck and placing them in the grave and removing them from the grave after the two sides have been disconnected.

The means for detachably and adjustably connecting the side members consists at each end of a cribbing of a pair of upper arms l5 and it pivotally attached at the corners to the right and left corner posts respectively and a pair of lower arms l1 and I 8 pivotally attached at their post ends to the right and left corner posts respectively. In both pair of arms there are provided a co-operating series of holes through which at various adjustments as desired one or more bolts 19 may be placed to adjust and hold in such adjustment the members of each of said upper and lower pair of arms so that said pairs will make respectively an upper cross bar 29 and a lower cross bar 2|. Each cross bar is composed of the two arms of its pair and when the two arms are extended and brought into the desired relative position and fastened in that position by bolts !9 it will be seen that each cross bar forms in effect a rigid member to overcome any possible swinging out of horizontal alignment between the two side members. One cross bar at each end is provided with a set of angularly disposed braces. Preferably and most conveniently these braces 22 and 23 will be placed upon the upper cross arms. One end of each brace, preferably its post end, is permanently pivotally attached to a post and to the end web 24 thereof preferably on its inner side as by a nut or rivet 25 while the other or arm end of the brace is attached when the parts are extended by a bolt 25 passing through a hole near the end of the brace and through a hole in the proper location upon its upper arm. A nut or other equivalent means holds these bolts 26 detachably in position but the bolts and their fasteners may be readily detached so as to allow the cribbing to be folded up after the pairs of arms are detached from each other. The arms and the brace that are permanently pivoted to each post may be folded up lengthwise of the post into compact position so as to be out of the way during transportation and storage, but still be at once readily usable when the cribbing is to be again placed in use. The cribbing may be assembled in fully erected position to the proper width to one side of the grave and moved over into the grave after the grave has been dug down a short distance or the grave may be started and then the two side members placed in the opposite sides and then the connection between the two sides brought in position and adjusted and fastened. As the digging of the grave proceeds the cribbing will gradually descend. If the ground is relatively firm the earth beneath the corner posts will be removed from time to time as required to allow the cribbing to settle down.

The one-sided cribbing shown in Fig. 5 consists of a full side member with its connected upper and lower arms and upper brace and two extra corner posts I0= ifl as already described but without any side boards connecting said corner posts. The corner posts Hi however, have upper and lower arms I5 and Mi a d a brace 22 all substantially as already described with regard to similar members upon the regular form of cribbing. The assembled side and the two extra corner posts and their attached arms will then be set up in an obvious manner as already described with regard to a full cribbing and used in a grave where care is to be taken only to prevent one side of the grave from caving in. Such a situation sometimes arises in a cemetery wher the ground is decidedly firm but where the earth at one side of the proposed grave is loose or has been recently disturbed or has become loosened from an adjoining grave having settled sufficiently to loosen and weaken the ground at that side so that cribbing at that side of the grave is necessary.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a knock-down cribbing for graves, the combination of four one-piece angle iron corner posts arranged in side and end pairs, with the interior angle of the said angle iron posts being inside relative to the adjacent sides and ends of the cribbing, side boards permanently connected near their ends to the inner side of the longitudinal web of each sid pair of the corner posts forming two permanently assembled sides, and two cross bars at each end of the sides, each bar composed of two flat cross arms, each arm pivoted at one end to the transverse web of its corner post and at its other end detachably secured to the free end of the cooperating fiat cross arm of its bar.

2. In a knock-down cribbing for graves, the combination of four one-piece angle iron corner posts arranged in side and end pairs, with the interior angle of the said angle iron posts being inside relative to the adjacent sides and ends of the cribbing, sid boards permanently connected near their ends to the inner side of the longitudinal web of each side pair of the corner posts forming two permanently assembled sides, and two cross bars at each end of the sides, each bar composed of two flat cross arms, each arm piv oted at one end to the transverse web of its corner post and at its other end detachably secured to the free end of the cooperating flat cross arm of its bar, and an angularly disposed brace bar for each arm of one cross bar at each end of the cribbing, the post end of said brace bar being fastened to the transverse web of its corner post and the other end fastened to the flat cross arm.

3. In a knock-down cribbing for graves, the combination of four one-piece angle iron corner posts arranged in side and end pairs, with the interior angle of the said angle iron posts on the inside relative to the adjacent side and end of the cribbing, side boards permanently connected near their ends to the transverse Web of one side pair of corner posts and forming a permanently assembled side, two cross bars connecting each end pair of said corner posts, each cross bar composed of two flat cross arms, each arm pivoted at one end to the transverse web of its corner post and at its other end detachably and adjustably secured to the free end of the cooperating arm of its cross bar, and a diagonally disposed flat brace for each arm of one cross bar at each end of the cribbing.

4. In a knock-down cribbing for graves, the combination of four one-piece angle iron corner posts arranged in side and end pairs, with the interior angle of the said angle iron posts on the inside relative to the adjacent side and end of the cribbing, two cross bars connecting each end pair of corner posts, each cross bar composed of two cross arms, each arm pivoted at one end to the transversely extending Web of its comer posts and at its other end detachably secured to the free end of the cooperating arm of its cross 'bar, a plurality of side boards permanently connected near their opposite ends to the inner surface of the longitudinally extending web of the corner posts of at least one of the side pairs of corner posts, and an angularly disposed brace bar for each arm of one cross bar at each end of the cribbing, the post end of said brace bar being secured to the transverse web of said corner angle post.

ARTHUR F. DOREY. 

